2 of the 10 Projects Funded in Türkiye Under the Horizon Europe Programme Are from IZTECH
The results of the WIDERA Twinning 2026 call, part of the European Union’s research and innovation framework programme Horizon Europe, have been announced. In this highly competitive call, 10 projects from Türkiye earned grant funding, with Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH) receiving support for two separate projects in which it serves as coordinator.
Distinguished by its highly qualified academic staff, strong research infrastructure, and international collaborations, IZTECH’s achievement once again confirms its global competence in high technology and basic sciences.
Leadership in Research and Technology on a Global Scale
The Twinning call, part of the Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence programme, aims to strengthen researchers’ capacity to build international networks, elevate institutions’ scientific profiles, and develop research management infrastructures.
Under the two projects led by IZTECH, extensive collaborations will be carried out with leading universities and research centers across Europe.
Within the scope of the two projects, international researcher exchanges, summer and winter schools, technical training programs, expert visits, and strategic research management activities will be conducted. In addition, thanks to the grant received from the European Union, innovative ventures and advanced technology solutions will be developed within the IZTECH ecosystem.
Interdisciplinary Solutions and a Strong Research Ecosystem
The projects to be carried out under IZTECH’s coordination cover a wide range of interdisciplinary work, from protecting cultural heritage against climate change and disaster risks through technological solutions, to geothermal surface structures and sustainable technology applications. IZTECH’s advanced research centers, together with the Izmir Technology Development Zone (Teknopark İzmir) ecosystem, which provides industry integration, will offer a strategic advantage in transferring the technologies developed into field applications.
“A Concrete Fruit of Our Research-Focused Vision”
Commenting on this dual achievement, IZTECH Rector Prof. Dr. Yusuf Baran drew attention to IZTECH’s highly qualified academic staff and scientific production capacity:
“Today, as the boundaries of science and technology are being redrawn on a global scale, the responsibility of universities can no longer be limited to producing knowledge alone. We must transform the knowledge we produce into a strategic force capable of shaping the shared future of humanity and society. The funding of two of our projects at the coordinator level under Horizon Europe, one of the European Union’s most competitive and prestigious scientific platforms, is a concrete reflection of the dynamic research ecosystem we have built at IZTECH and the world-class competence of our academics.
These strategic and intellectual partnerships we have established with leading global institutions will further strengthen our Institute’s research capacity and reinforce our country’s leading role in international science diplomacy and technology. I sincerely congratulate all our academics and researchers who contributed to this achievement.”
Projects to Be Carried Out Under IZTECH’s Leadership
The first of the projects to be carried out under IZTECH’s main coordination, “SOTERIA,” is led by Prof. Dr. Hülya Yüceer, faculty member in the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (research team: Dr. Fatma Sezgi Mamaklı, Dr. Selen Güler, Nihan Bulut, Zeynep Özkaya İlbey), in partnership with UCL from the United Kingdom and UNIPV from Italy, and aims to protect cultural heritage against climate and disaster risks using digital twins.
“GEOTHERMIS,” on the other hand, is led by Dr. Mine Turan (research team: Prof. Dr. Alper Baba, Başar Şirin, Dr. Fatma Sezgi Mamaklı, Ayşen Etlacakuş, Taygun Uzelli), in partnership with institutions from Italy (UNIBA, CNR), Ireland (ATU), and France (ICONEM), and aims to examine geothermal surface structures along the Urla Peninsula and Western Anatolia line through digital and spatial analyses.
